Marcus Willis is best known for his dream run at Wimbledon in 2016, when he advanced through qualifying, battled into the main draw, won a match and faced Roger Federer on Centre Court.
Eight years later, the Briton is adding a new chapter to his story. The 33-year-old is rapidly approaching the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings.
“It was an amazing story at the time. But I feel like I've got something to offer. I want to maximise my ability, to play the biggest tournaments in the world and get there on my own right,” Willis told ATPTour.com. “I did for Wimbledon 2016, I had to win quite a few matches to get where I wanted, quite rightly because I was lowly ranked. It would just be nice to do it all sort of my way, do it myself.”
In 2020, Willis had decided to move on from professional tennis — his last tournament was in November. The lefty began coaching at a local club five to six days per week and would periodically take a private hit in London or work a clinic and do a Q&A session.
The following year, he received an offer from someone willing to finance a return to the Tour. Willis worked his way back into shape to begin a doubles career. In July 2022, he played his first ITF World Tennis Tour event as an alternate.
“I won one match and lost on the court as I wasn't sharp enough, but I knew I had the weapons to kind of get where I wanted,” Willis said. “I've just slowly made improvements every week. I'm always looking to get a little bit better. And I've had to work hard. I've had to put the hours in doing the work, the doubles work.”
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It is ironic considering what hardcore tennis fans first grew to know Willis for. The lefty went viral at an ATP Challenger Tour event in 2014 when he drank a can of cola and ate a Snickers bar during a match, which he won against eventual two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren.
“It's funny, I was out of shape. People see it as not caring, but I care deeply about my tennis. I've always cared. I've always been super competitive. It's just, it was frustrating at the time that I couldn't get it all right, and in fact, I got it quite wrong,” Willis said. “I was lost, but I was still talented. And it's okay. It didn't bother me when people took the mickey at the time because I'd laugh it off.
“But I look back now and it was definitely not knowing what to do with myself, not having any direction. And when you're a professional tennis player, and you're young and you leave home early, and you're touring by yourself, it's difficult sometimes.”
Today, Willis does not have a coach. But he spends plenty of time watching ATP Challenger Tour doubles action before and after his own matches. When the Briton wakes up, he does breathing work and takes a cold shower. He is constantly working on his flexibility and improving small habits, learning from books on personal improvement like Atomic Habits by James Clear.
“I'm just trying to do everything I can to get a little bit better. And it's happened gradually. I started [last] July [at Challengers], I didn't make it past the semi-finals until the last tournament in November. And then I nearly won three in a row. So it's kind of once I got there, I've won four this year,” Willis said. “I'm happy with the way things are going. And again, I'm looking to improve today. And I'm looking to improve tomorrow.”
Willis competing at the Mexico City Open, an ATP Challenger event, in April. Photo Credit: Mexico City Open
One year ago, Willis had not yet played on the ATP Challenger Tour during his comeback. Now he has won four Challenger titles and is at a career-high World No. 119. The Briton has also won 15 of his past 17 Match Tie-breaks, mostly playing with American Christian Harrison.
“I try not to think about the occasion and just think about how to improve, because I'm so far away from where I want to be. Even now, I want to be a Top 100 player, I want to be in the main draw at the Slams,” Willis said. “I always think, ‘This match isn't going to change your life. Try and do the right thing’ and just take myself back to the training court rather than when I was losing them, I was kind of hoping to win and hoping the opponents would miss or just hoping to get through any way.”
Willis’ journey to Wimbledon was one many likened to a Hollywood script, but the 33-year-old is proving that his story still has plenty of chapters left to tell.
“In life I feel like I've had to come back from stuff so many times and I've always come back. I retired, I was out of shape, I'd try again the next Monday. It's a sense of I fell over 400 times, I got up 401,” Willis said. “I've kept coming back and I'm 33 now. I'm not young but I'm still here. I'm still fighting and if I get things wrong again, I'll always keep trying, I'll always keep coming back.”
Willis openly admits that he did not have “the best singles career in the world”. He reached World No. 322 and was limited to just one tour-level event. But he worked his way to a moment thousands of fans around the world remember and today is still pushing for more.
“I didn't completely give up. I struggled, and I struggled and I struggled and now things are going well. But I'm sure I'll struggle again, I'll fall on my face again, and you've just got to keep getting up,” Willis said. “From all the books I’ve read, and the people I‘ve listened to, it inspires me to keep going. It's been a really challenging couple of years… It helps knowing that I'll try until it's impossible to play tennis anymore. That's how I want to kind of be remembered, or it's how I want to inspire people.
“There are only going to be very few No. 1s in the world. I've played all the junior Slams, I've qualified for Wimbledon. I made the third round of the doubles in 2017 and I'd love to add to that. I've had some great life experiences. I've had some tough life lessons. But I just want people to keep fighting.”
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